NEC Ramps Up Automation Ecosystem For 5G
xHaul Transformation Services
February 25, 2022
NEC
has launched an Automation Ecosystem to bolster its 5G xHaul
Transformation Services, bringing communication service providers (CSPs)
simplified operations, cost effectiveness and faster time-to-value for
their multi-vendor based networks. The 5G xHaul Transformation Solutions
and Services are part of NEC Open Networks, a suite of solutions for
realizing the real-world benefits of truly open 5G networks.
For CSPs aspiring to build momentum in the 5G era, there is an imminent
demand to gain network flexibility and agility to accommodate
diversified user requirements. Automation technologies will play a
pivotal role in enabling efficient and reliable operations over
increasingly complex transport networks.
Mayuko Tatewaki, General Manager, Service
Provider Solutions Division, NEC Corporation explained, "As the Network
Integrator, we are excited to pursue innovation with our partners and
bring transformation that reduces customers’ operational load. NEC
believes our vast experience in CSP networking and critical system
integration capabilities enables us to provide invaluable advancements
to our customers in the 5G era."
Thomas Desrues, Vice President, Strategic
Alliances and Global Systems Integrators, Juniper Networks added, "User
expectations of service experience must be exceeded for service
providers to be successful. Closed-loop, intent-based automation
delivers differentiated services, simplified operations, optimized
capacity and increased resiliency to improve customer experience.
Extensible, interoperable automation solutions with open, standard APIs
are critical, helping to enable a service-assured, experience-first
network. NEC’s ecosystem initiative will support service providers’
automation journey and Juniper is happy to be an active participant."
However, incorporating automation for
a multi-vendor network environment will require new capabilities, such
as holistically redesigning the network architecture and its processes
by breaking the silos of traditional network domains and
operationalizing them with software engineering skillsets.
To address these challenges, NEC offers turn-key automation services as
a part of 5G xHaul Transformation Services powered by an open ecosystem
of industry leading network and software suppliers, initially including
Accedian, Juniper Networks and UBiqube. Combining the network and
software engineering capabilities built at the NEC 5G Transport Network
Center of Excellence (CoE) with the expertise of these strategic
partners, the ecosystem is aimed for providing robust automation
solutions for the full lifecycle of 5G xHaul operations, including
network provisioning, traffic engineering and closed-loop automation.
Richard
Piasentin, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, Accedian said,
"Real-time tailoring of 5G performance parameters for ultra-low-latency
applications and services is imperative for CSPs to monetize 5G. With
NEC’s expertise, CSPs dependent on disaggregated architectures can
modernize utilizing Accedian’s precision microsecond service assurance
across complex ecosystems. Deploying Accedian’s cloud-native agents
assures the delivery of services and applications across distributed
networks with real-time visibility to achieve operational consistency,
integrated lifecycle management, and automated assurance for user
experience-based closed-loop automation."
Nabil Souli, CEO of UBiqube noted, "Automation is a crucial aspect of
success for CSPs amid the 5G boom. NEC has been at the forefront of this
practice, leveraging UBiqube's MSActivator to deliver even greater IT
agility in all layers of the infrastructure fabric, from transport to
cloud. We are honored to join NEC's Automation Ecosystem initiative and
look forward to driving the next generation of innovation and
simplification in infrastructure automation."
